This is part 3 of 10 of our 10 Years of Laconia Series.
When you’re angel investing, you’re playing with your own capital. Maybe you bring along a friend or two, and you’re taking risks that are, at the end of the day, yours to own. It’s exciting, it’s personal, and it’s flexible.
But starting a venture fund? That’s an entirely different game. Suddenly, you’re not just betting your own money—you’re responsible for other people’s capital. With that comes fiduciary responsibility, a term that doesn’t get thrown around lightly. It’s not just a legal obligation—it’s a promise. A promise to make decisions that are in the best interest of your investors, to manage their capital responsibly, and to build a level of trust that can’t be broken. It means no shortcuts, no excuses, and no putting your ego ahead of the people who believed in you.
At the time, we thought, how hard could this be? We loved angel investing, we’d been operators for years, and we had built strong networks. But what we quickly learned is that building a venture fund is so much more than just finding amazing founders and backing them. It’s about creating a foundation that balances vision, discipline, and long-term responsibility, and that’s a far bigger challenge than we ever imagined.
We understood the importance of fiduciary responsibility from our years as operators. Running businesses taught us the weight of accountability—to our teams, boards, and stakeholders. But launching a fund took it to another level. This time, it wasn’t just about day-to-day operations. It was about building fund management systems and tools that would stand the test of time: audits, quarterly and annual reports that would follow the fund for its entire lifetime, and figuring out everything from asset allocation strategy to recycling capital. The processes we put in place mattered as much as the deals we made. This wasn’t just about investing—it was about operating a financial institution.
Part of building something hard is knowing your strengths—and your weaknesses. Out of the gate, I (Jeffrey) knew David was the right partner. Where I saw my own shortcomings, David filled the gaps. He brought a sharp financial mind and an extreme eye for detail—qualities that would be critical as we moved from writing small checks to managing institutional capital.
On the other side, I was the extrovert to his introvert. If David lived in the numbers, I lived in the room—building relationships, telling our story, and creating momentum. It wasn’t just that we liked each other; it was that we complemented each other in ways that made us better as a team.
More importantly, we had a tremendous amount of mutual respect for each other. If I liked a deal and he didn’t—or vice versa—we never let it become a dead end. Instead, we’d ask each other, “What does the other see that I don’t?” That respect pushed us to think harder, dig deeper, and make better decisions. We never argued or let ego get in the way. It wasn’t about being right; it was about getting it right. That mindset created a foundation of trust that carried us through the toughest moments and set the tone for how we would operate as partners.
We were cautious with our first fund. Truthfully, we weren’t sure if this “venture thing” was going to become our next career. We were curious, excited, and maybe a little unsure of what we were really signing up for. So we set the bar low—or what we thought was low at the time—and decided to raise a $5 million fund.
And yes, we knew this wasn’t the direct path to getting rich—a $5 million fund with a 2% management fee and 20% carry; you can all do the math. Prior success provided us with the path to test these waters out. Our focus was to see if we could build, run, and succeed in running a venture fund. Right or wrong, building the Laconia brand or nurturing and growing our LP pipeline took a back seat. As soon as we closed that first fund, we put our heads down and focused on executing.
We can’t begin to tell you how grateful we are to the friends and former colleagues who believed in us before we fully believed in ourselves. They were the ones who stepped up to be our first LPs. Looking back, those early commitments weren’t just about the money—they were votes of confidence that gave us the courage to take the leap.
Starting Laconia was harder than we ever expected. But looking personally and professionally, we’re so glad we didn’t know just how hard it would be as we find ourselves today blessed with the people we get to work with day in and day out and grateful for the job we have.
